Defense holds strong in Seahawks victory over the Rams

Thanks to multiple defensive stands inside the red zone, the Seattle Seahawks (3-2) walked out of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with a 16-10 victory over the Los Angeles Rams (3-2).

Jared Goff would be sacked and stripped by Frank Clark fumble, defensive end Sheldon Richardson recovered the loose ball, then he returned it to 20-yards to the Rams 20 yard line. The Seahawks would grind the clock down to the two-minute warning, before being stopped short on their third down play; but Los Angeles didn’t have any timeouts left. So Seattle let the clock grind down to the 1:12 left before deciding to boot the a 35-yard line to extend its lead to 16-10.

Los Angeles would march right downfield in the 70 seconds of the game, but the defense would hold in the red zone (again) to preserve the victory. Goff looked really good on the final drive..but his decision to force the ball Cooper Kupp inside the 20 was costly as the Seahawks double covered him on the Rams’ last play of the game.

Out of halftime, the Seahawks offense was able to move down field against Los Angeles’ defense thanks to a series of sharp passes by Wilson. Unfortunately Seattle was unable to punch it into the end zone and the Hawks settled for a 49-yard field goal from Walsh to get them their first lead of the game.

Goff would look sharp on the ensuing drive, including a couple of passes to Kupp and Austin to get move the Rams near the red zone. But the second year quarterback would get unlucky when a pass bounced off of Gurley’s hands before being intercepted Sheldon Richardson. The Seahawks were unable to do anything with the ball, especially after a ticky tacky penalty on Tanner McEvoy that placed Seattle in second and 17…Wilson was unable to pick up the first down with his legs on third and long, which forced the Seahawks to punt the ball.

Graham would catch his first touchdown of the season when Wilson found him just across the plain for a four-yard touchdown pass. It was a touchdown that perfectly encapsulated the 14 plays, and 71 yards, that preceded it. Los Angeles would get the ball on its 40-yard line after Walsh kicked the ball out-of-bounds. This drive was the best that Seahawks had in the first half as they moved the ball down field in short, controlled, spurts; but it lacked the explosive plays that have made the offense really pop in the past.

But the Rams would be unable to do anything productive on their ensuing drive as they went three and out. Seattle would drive into field goal range for Walsh; the veteran’s 48-yard field goal would sail through the uprights to tie the game at 10 at the intermission.

The Rams would generate their first turnover of the game when offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell would break out some trickeration, he called for wide receiver pass by Tanner McEvoy. McEvoy’s pass floated in the air before getting picked off by safety Cody Davis. Ten plays later, Goff would hand off the ball to Tavon Austin on the jet sweep for a 27-yard touchdown run to give Los Angeles a 7-0 lead early in the second a quarter.

One their ensuing drive, the Seahawks would go three and out but the offense would be bailed out when Austin muffed the punt and the Hawks recovered the ball on LA’s 30 yard line. Wilson would get picked off when he tossed a floater towards Luke Willson but John Johnson jumped in front of the pass, the third year safety then returned the ball 69-yards to Seattle’s 19-yard line.

Fortunately for the Seahawks, the defense would buckle down in red zone. Los Angeles was only able to kick a 35-yard field goal to give the Rams a 10-0 lead.

Seattle’s first break of the game came when Earl Thomas tomahawk chopped the ball out of Gurley’s hand, the ball then bounced off of the pylon and out-of-bounds. After a replay review confirmed what happened, the Seahawks got the ball on their 20-yard line. Wilson would guide the offense to their 40-yard line, before they were forced to punt the ball on fourth down.